I often have have oen for breakfast, especially handy when rushing or not really wanting to eat.I find it does keep me fuller for a lot longer too.

Currently my favourite thing is to mix the banana protein powder with some quark and a little squeeze of honey (about 5g). Its like having cheesecake topping and so filling and low on calories.

Okay, I don't know whether you mean meal replacement shakes like slim fast or the kind you make with the powdered supplements and fruit and milk in a blender. I can only really speak for what I have tried and I don't endorse it for anyone else. I think weight loss is such a personal journey in the respect that just because someone has success one way doesn't mean anyone else will. Also, you should always talk to your doctor about this stuff. I'm hesitant to even post this because I just made up a plan to suit me at the time and I don't believe this is how I should have went about it but in the end if you are considering what is essentially liquid nutrition you should get all the info you can. If you try it and hate it you can always go to a different plan.

I started a year ago with 1 Ensure shake and a light yogurt for breakfast (coming in between 320 and 360 calories) and then had a normal healthy lunch, often a small side salad with salad spritzer and a sandwich on wheat with light cheese and light low sodium sliced chicken breast (about 300 calories) with 1 Ensure shake and a piece of fruit for dinner (about 300 calories). I had snacking room during the day for raw veggies, steamed veggies, sf jello and pudding, special k crackers etc. to meet a daily caloric goal of no less than 1200 calories. I still use them over a year later and they, mixed with the yogurt or fruit, do enough to fill me but I have branched out into other things for lunch like tilapia fillets and veggies, etc. Sandwiches get old fast, but I do try to have at least 1 cup of salad a day and I like having low cal foods like veggies on hand for snacking. If I am having a day where I'm just hungry I will skip the shake and just eat a meal, especially now that I know how to portion out a proper meal, I know how to count calories and I know to make healthier choices. I also count calories (as you can see) and I do a found journal. Without taking this multi-step approach I don't know that I would have done as well because seriously its drinking calories and you almost forget that you've done it. A few big sips and there is your breakfast and all of a sudden you're wondering where those 250 cals have gone.

I went with the premixed ones because they're soy based and I can't really drink milk without getting sick. It did take a while to get used to them in my diet because I never ate breakfast before I started this plan and I hate eating in the morning. Since I still don't like eating in the morning yogurt and a meal replacement shake seemed like a logical place for me to start with getting breakfast in and getting a meal plan together. Also, after being sick it was far more easy to digest a shake and yogurt than say...an egg. I had cut my calories practically in half at first and I won't lie, I did struggle that first week or two. I didn't have any desire to eat after I started healing up for fear of getting sick again, but was still really hungry. The shakes gave me nutrition without making my tummy feel bad which helped but it did little those first few days to kill the desire to eat! A big part of this was getting over the psycological effects of not physically eating and not actual hunger but it certainly felt like real hunger at the time.

I have lost 180 lbs using the Ensure shakes with a sensible diet and exercise, albeit sporadic exercise but still more than I was doing before. My meal plan is constantly evolving, getting healthier everyday and I hope to someday be off the shakes in lieu of a normal meal. They have less sugar and carbs than some brands, but are higher than others. They seemed at the time to be a middle of the road shake and when I started Slim Fast had a big recall so that's why I picked them over other brands. The high protein ones as opposed to the normal ones have a sort of after taste so I don't use them. I do take a women's multivitamin to make up for anything I might be missing from going the shake route. I do like that the vanilla ones kill my sweet tooth though. It's like having a milkshake without the guilt and therefore I don't really bother with that stuff anymore because I still feel like I'm getting it. I can't tell you that last time I bothered with ice cream... might have been about a year ago.

I don't even know if this is acceptable for a meal plan by most standards...its just what I needed and what happens to work for me. I figured if people do Slim Fast all the time, I should be ok, but then I opted to switch the full meal from dinner to lunch because I don't like having a super full belly before bed. I think it is important to have a plan in place and a back up plan in case you find yourself in need of something different. The reasons behind why I chose to go this route I think are what made it successful. I was able to see the areas that I needed help in and the shakes filled that role. Some people go low sodium, so go low carb, and for me that wasn't going to work when I started. I made the decisions to actively keep my calories in a 1200-1400 range (which was too low to start with and I wish I had started with more cals and worked my way down) and I did opt for more high density foods like veggies and salads to go with it so I didn't feel hungry. I time my meals so that I don't skip one or let it go for too long because then I want to binge eat. There's a lot more to it than just subbing a shake for a meal in my opinion.

At the end of the day, I'm thankful for them because I needed help starting out and didn't really know what I was doing. Now, I'm hesitant to stay from what has worked for me but equally eager to ditch the shakes. I sort of feel like those were my weight loss training wheels if that makes sense. I hope this helps and no matter what you choose, make sure you do it safely! Good luck and hope to see you around the forums.

-J

I wasn't trying to sound preachy or anything but I really don't want someone to see that post and only take from it "oh hey she lost a ton of weight using shakes" and then go and try them and end up getting sick because that's all they ate trying to dump weight fast. Obviously that wasn't meant towards you, but once it is put out there on the net it's there forever. Young kids often do stupid stuff and I just wanted to be super clear that it wasn't just the shakes if you know what I mean. I think if you want to give either a protein shake or a meal replacement shake a shot to kill the morning hunger that it should help. It does give you an energy boost to have food in the morning and like I said, since I hate eating in the morning a shake and yogurt is perfect. Some days I know it won't cut it so I have an egg or some cottage cheese with the yogurt but usually its the shake. Good luck.

I drink protein shakes every day. They are a staple for me after gastric bypass, but I think they could be useful to anyone. At first I was using the Body Fortress brand because it was cheapest (about $15 for a 2lb container at Wal-mart, and the Body Fortress website always has like $1 coupons). Then I realized that it didnt matter how cheap it was if it was so disgusting I couldnt drink it.

I then tried a couple different brands, finally settling on ON ($23 for a 2 lb container at The Vitamin Shoppe, I think cheaper on Amazon) and Designer Whey ($10 for a 15 oz can) which are what I use now. The ON is what I use most frequently. I use the Vanilla Ice Cream flavor, and it is pretty good. My biggest problem with the Body Fortress and others I've tried are that they are SO sickly sweet and disgusting! And adding fruit to them just intensifies the sweetness, blech! I do put frozen fruit in the vanilla and something like strawberries or raspberries or cherries would be good in the chocolate. I also use Torani sugar free flavored syrups (like the ones you use in coffee) in my shakes. It is a nice way to add flavor without adding a lot of sweetness or any texture. Amazon has these for cheaper, too.

Hi P H A T!

I was never able to use the shakes as they made me sick. Too much fiber does not make a happy me! Wish that wasn't the case. It would make my life simpler! I am on South Beach and use their Cereal and Meal replacement bars. They are something I can throw in my purse and if I have to eat, it's there. You need to see what works for you!

Keep up the good work!
Sharona